For the first time in almost 30 years, the 34th Annual Northern Virginia Regional MATHCOUNTS Competition awarded first place to a new math champion: BASIS Independent McLean (BIM) of McLean, Va., which opened in 2016. BIM’s middle school math team placed first among schools in the Northern Virginia Chapter MATHCOUNTS Competition (comprised of 17 schools). Longfellow Middle School of Falls Church, Va., who has historically earned the first place award since the 1980s, came in second place. For more information on BASIS Independent McLean, go to http://mclean.basisindependent.com.

“We’re so proud of our students; they made MATHCOUNTS their competition, their project, their win,” said Sean Aiken, head of school of BASIS Independent McLean of McLean, Va. “Our school is designed to help kids take ownership of their own successes and failures, as each lends itself to great learning opportunities; we’re honored to have our students represent BASIS Independent McLean and very impressed that as a new school, they won by working together as a team,” said Aiken.

The Northern Virginia Regional MATHCOUNTS competition is held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. The regional competition combines the Fairfax, George Washington and Northern VA Chapters of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers. The top team and top students from each chapter will compete at the Virginia State MATHCOUNTS competition on March 18, 2017 in Richmond, Va. Sixth through eighth grade students from 53 Virginia elementary and middle schools competed at the events. These students have been practicing since the fall and were selected to represent their schools at the competitions. Students compete as school teams and as individuals.

About MATHCOUNTS: MATHCOUNTS was founded in 1983 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and CNA Foundation. MATHCOUNTS is a national middle school math enrichment program offering competition and club activities designed to foster appreciation of math among U.S. students so as to prepare students for future career opportunities and success. More than 6 million students across the U.S. have participated in MATHCOUNTS programs. For more information, go to www.mathcounts.org.

ABOUT BASIS INDEPENDENT MCLEAN, VA: BASIS was founded in 1998 by Dr. Michael and Olga Block, world-class economists and academics, who developed a formula for success for every child by offering a rigorous, globally competitive liberal arts and science curriculum taught by passionate subject-expert teachers and supported by a culture of excellence. What began as a single campus in Tucson, Ariz. has grown to become a unique, high-achieving, network of schools with three independent, private schools in Brooklyn, N.Y., Silicon Valley and Fremont in Calif., and now in McLean, Va., with an international school in Shenzhen, China, and 16 public charter schools across the United States. Today, BASIS.ed students have propelled their schools to become the top ranked in the nation. BASIS Independent McLean is located at 8000 Jones Branch Drive in McLean, Va. Visit them at http://mclean.basisindependent.com, Facebook, Twitter@BASISInd or YouTube channel, BASIS.ed.